Philips Audio has revealed a new set of products all designed with a strong retro feel, called the Century range. As the name suggests, the idea is to celebrate of 100 years of the Philips name making audio gear, and the designs draw from different parts of the last century. Oh, and they’re all named after big music artists.
The collection consists of two record players with built-in speakers, two pairs of headphones, and a portable digital radio, which will all launch officially in September 2025 in the UK and Europe (US availability isn’t confirmed yet, but Philips Audio does sell products there, and will launch its new H8000E noise-cancelling headphones there).
I saw them all in person, though I couldn’t hear them because the units weren’t quite ready yet – but I saw enough to get me excited to try them, because there’s some seriously cool stuff going on.
The Ringo
First, we’ve got to talk about The Ringo headphones, which are designed to look just like the ’80s on-ear headphones you’d have expected to see all over Venice Beach in California connected to Walkmans.
They’ve got a metal headband, small circular on-ear pads, and colorful ear cup backs, with options for teal, black or white finishes (and possibly more to come). But don’t be fooled, they’re really modern inside, featuring Bluetooth 5.4 and 40mm drivers, which is impressive for such small ear cups.
Those who like the best on-ear headphones are a little starved of wireless options compared to the many over-ear options on the market, so these will be welcome – and they look super-cool. Pleasingly, they come with spare ear pads, so you don’t need to worry about wearing them down. The battery life is about 20 hours.
The Tina
My next favorite from the collection is The Tina, which is a record player with a 120W built-in speaker, which Philips says is the most powerful speaker ever put in an all-in-one record player to date. It’s a 2.1 stereo setup, featuring two full-range drivers facing forward, and a four-inch bass reflex subwoofer.
There’s an aluminum platter and tonearm with adjustable counter-weight, and it comes with an Audio-Technica moving-magnet cartridge. As well as playing music out through the speakers, you can play over Bluetooth, including using Auracast to play to multiple speakers at once, and it has a 6.3mm headphone socket.
But this isn’t just competing with the best turntables for vinyl-playing alone; you can also stream music into it over Bluetooth, or it has RCA aux-in, plus USB file playback, and even digital and FM radio tuners.
And on top of all that, it’s a very striking thing to see in person. That mid-century wood veneer and front grille combo, with chunky dials at either end, is a cool statement on a sideboard.
The Freddie
Perfect for pairing with The Tina for private listening is The Freddie, a set of deeply cushioned open-back headphones with 50mm drivers. Philips has made a lot of very nice open-back headphones over the years from its Fidelio brand, and it looks like a lot of the principles have been used here – but with a brown finish that just screams ‘old-school hi-fi’. Well, perhaps perhaps it screaming it isn’t era-appropriate; more croaking it through a smoky haze in a listening club.
There’s a 3m cable included, and the double-layer earpads are made to be more breathable than older headphones might have been, and with a suspended headband for lengthy listening.
The Stevie
Next on my personal favorites list is The Stevie, which is another all-in-one record player. It has a more modern look, and is very much aimed at vinyl beginners, featuring modest 12W speakers, and the option of streaming to it via Bluetooth as well as playing records.
The spinner is a three-speed, belt-driven affair, with an Audio-Technica MM cartridge again. As well as the built-in speakers, you can send the music out to Bluetooth speakers, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Janet
Finally, there’s The Janet (pictured on the right, above), which is a DAB+ and FM radio that aims to suggest a ’50s vibe with its curved sides, though I think its black finish and LCD screen make it look too modern to really tickle the retro-loving part of the brain. It has a 5W speaker, and you can stream music to it over Bluetooth as well as the radio.
It has a battery life of 16 hours, and this is one of many speakers Philips is launching that has an easily replaced rechargeable battery – if it stops holding charge years from now, you can just buy another from Philips, pop open a cover, and swap the units. It’s great to see.
It’s a shame I can’t tell you more about how these sound – or, just as importantly – how much they’ll cost. But I was totally charmed by the looks of The Ringo and The Tina especially, so I’m looking forward to September when we can see if what’s inside lives up to the outside.
Leave a comment